The Jaysh al-Ummah ( ar, جيش الأمة; lit. Army of the

Ummah ' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' ...

) was a coalition of 20 small rebel groups active during the Syrian Civil War. The group operated in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and

Rif Dimashq Governorate Rif Dimashq Governorate ( ar, محافظة ريف دمشق, ', literally, the "Governorate of the Countryside of Damascus", Damascus Suburb) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the southwestern part of the c ...

. It was disbanded on 9 March 2015, after it was defeated by

Jaysh al-Islam ) , successor = , allies = * * * * * Free Syrian Army * Ahrar al-Sham *al-Rahman Legion (sometimes) *1st Brigade of Damascus (sometimes) * Al-Nusra Front (formerly) * Saraya Ahl al-Sham * Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis , opponents ...

and its remaining fighters defected to the Syrian government forces in Eastern Ghouta.

History

On 19 September 2014, 10 small rebel groups formed the Jaysh al-Ummah. The leader of

, part of the Islamic Front,

Zahran Alloush Zahran Alloush ( ar, زَهْرَانُ عَلُّوشٍ, Zahrān ʿAlūš, 1971 – 25 December 2015) was a Syrian Islamist leader active in the Syrian Civil War. He was the commander of Jaysh al-Islam (or Army of Islam), a major component of the ...

, condemned the formation by saying that "there cannot be two heads for the same body". This immediately resulted in tensions and sporadic clashes between the two groups. On 29 September 2014, the leader of Jaysh al-Ummah survived an assassination attempt, but his deputy was killed. On 19 October 2014, a second assassination attempt was made on him. The attack wounded him and killed his son. On 1 January 2015, the newly formed Lions of Justice Brigade joined the coalition. On 3 January 2015, two leaders of Jaysh al-Ummah were assassinated by unknown gunmen. The next day, Jaysh al-Islam declared war on Jaysh al-Ummah and captured its leader and seized its headquarters in Douma within a span of 6 hours. It also issued an arrest warrant against the deputy Nizar Khabbini. During the clashes, the Lions of Ghouta Brigade surrendered to Jaysh al-Islam, while 1,500 members of Jaysh al-Ummah were invited to join the ranks of the Islamic Front. Majid Khayba, commander of Jaysh al-Ummah's Douma Martyrs Brigade, was also captured. On 1 September 2015, he was

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

by Jaysh al-Islam by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

. On 9 March 2015, the remaining fighters of the Jaysh al-Ummah in Eastern Ghouta, alongside

al-Anfal Brigade The Al-Anfal Brigade was a Syrian rebel group affiliated with the Syria Revolutionaries Front coalition. It was armed with U.S.-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles. The group operates in the southern provinces of Syria and joined the Southern ...

, defected to Syrian government forces.

References

Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war Military units and formations established in 2014 Military units and formations disestablished in 2015 {{mil-unit-stub

History

See also

References